Mashable

Named for North Carolinian Confederate general Braxton Bragg, the US military base of Fort Bragg was established just before the end of World War I, and slowly grew to become a major center for artillery training and testing.

By the summer of 1940, some 5,400 soldiers were stationed at the sprawling installation. With the passage of the Selective Service Act and the imminent threat of World War II, the population of the base ballooned to 67,000 troops in just a year.

Fort Bragg became the training center for some of the first airborne divisions, and continued to receive tens of thousands of new inductees throughout the war.

When not training with rifles, artillery and parachutes, new recruits had the chance to blow off a little steam in the neighboring town of Fayetteville, taking buses into town for dates, dances and drinks before returning for duty.